How to Get Etsy Listings Found on Pinterest: A 30-Day Plan

Etsy search is crowded, and the tools Etsy gives you to stand out cost money: ads charge per click and Offsite Ads take a share of an attributed sale. Pinterest works differently. It’s a search engine where people plan gifts, rooms, parties and holidays, often weeks before they buy, and a good pin keeps getting found for months. For an Etsy seller, that’s traffic you don’t rent.

This guide is the manual method, step by step. It’s also in our free Etsy to Pinterest Starter Kit as a 12-page PDF.

1. Set up a business account

Create a free Pinterest business account (or convert your personal one), use your shop name and logo, and write a one-line bio: what you make, for whom, and one detail. Then claim your Etsy account in the business settings so your profile shows on pins from your shop, and add your website if you have one. Check Pinterest Analytics and Etsy Stats once a week.

2. Name boards the way shoppers search

“New Stuff” and “Summer Collection” don’t match anything anyone types. “Wedding Table Decor Ideas”, “Personalized Gift Ideas” and “Printable Weekly Planner” do. Start with 6–10 boards: one per main product type, plus gift and seasonal boards. Give each a short description: [topic] for [who]: [three related search phrases], from [your shop].

3. Write pins people can find

• Title: the search phrase first, and short. “Walnut Cutting Board · Personalized Gift” beats “Check out our new board!”.
• Description: two or three natural sentences: who it’s for, the occasion, one true detail, a gentle reason to tap. Weave in 4–6 keywords without stuffing.
• Alt text: one sentence describing the image.
• Link: the exact listing, never just your shop.

Write only what’s on your listing. Never invent materials, sizes, prices, discounts or reviews.

4. Use photos that stop the scroll

The white-background photo that sells on Etsy isn’t always the one that works on Pinterest. Lifestyle shots, close-ups of detail and “in use” photos do better. Use tall images (a 2:3 ratio, such as 1000 × 1500 px), keep any text on the image to a few large words, and use a different photo or crop for each pin of the same product.

5. Make many pins from one product

Pinterest favours fresh pins. Instead of one pin per product, use different selling angles: gift idea, seasonal, solves a problem, how to use, personalization, comparison, ideas list and lifestyle. Ten products × eight angles = eighty different pins, almost a month at three a day.

6. Pin for occasions early

People plan early on Pinterest. Many sellers start Christmas pins in September and Valentine’s pins in early December. Keep at least half your pins evergreen so traffic doesn’t drop between holidays.

7. Keep a rhythm you can sustain

One to five pins a day, every day, with products mixed so the same one doesn’t appear twice in a row. Make next week’s pins in one sitting and schedule them with Pinterest’s own scheduler or bulk upload.

The time problem, and a shortcut

The method above works, but it’s slow: by hand, a set of pins for one product easily takes 45–60 minutes. That’s why most sellers stop after a couple of weeks.

PinMyListings is a new tool that does the drafting. Paste an Etsy listing link and it writes and designs 5–10 pins with these angles on your own photos; you approve them, schedule them and upload one file. It’s $17 one-time and opens on November 5. Read our PinMyListings review for the details and limits.

Disclosure: Digitellix earns a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. Pinterest timing figures are common seller rules of thumb, not official Pinterest data.